Railway wear-plate and rail-brace



Patented Apr. I8, I899.

c. n. PAXSON. RAILWAY WEAR PLATE AND BAIL BBACE.

(Application filed Oct. 13, 1898 N M d I) NTUR 0 1 ATTORNEYS:

WI TNES'SES' jdum,

Jan/fax,-

UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE.

CALVIN DAVID PAXSON, OF LIMAVILLE, OHIO.

RAILWAY WEAR-PLATE AND RAlL-BRACE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 623,177, dated April 18, 1899.

Application filed October 13, 1898. Serial No. 693,368. No model.)

To all whom, it ntcty concern:

Be it known that I, CALVIN DAVID PAXSON, a citizen of the United States,residin g at Lim aville, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Impro vements in Railway lVeanPlates and Rail- Braces, of which the following is a full and complete .specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to railway wearplates which are inserted beneath the rails upon the usual wooden ties and which generally are provided upon their under surfaces with projections or means of anchorage to the tie and upon their upper surfaces with a shoulder or shoulders, against which the edge or edges of the rail are intended to bear; and the object of my invention is to provide a plate which shall serve to receive the rail firmly upon its upper surface and support the same against the outward lateral thrust of traffic and which shall by reason of a novel construction and arrangement of anchorage upon its under surface be so mounted upon the tie that when the said anchorage is forced thereinto it will with a peculiar degree of eficiency serve to prevent displacement or movement of the plate and the rail either laterally of said rail in the direction of the fibers of the tie or longitudinally against the fibers thereof, which two movements or tendencies toward movement of the rails are well known to exist by those skilled in matters pertaining to railroads and particularly to the track devices and equipments thereof, a further object of my invention being to in every way preserve the-tie against unnecessary injury by the entering of the anchorage thereinto or its continued presence therein.

lVith these ends in view my invention consists of a wear-plate provided upon its upper surface with a shoulder, preferably of the form hereinafter fully described, and provided on its under surface with two or' more separate series of projections ranging, respectively, longitudinally and transversely with reference to the rail above, and such projections being preferably of the form hereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates my improved wear-plate mounted in position upon the tie and beneath a rail, both of which are shown in transverse vertical section, with the wearplate in edge elevation. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of the wear-plate, and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the plate from the inner side.

The wear-plate A comprises a flat metallic body of any suitable thickness, usually oblong. the outer edge, is an integral shoulder B, projecting inwardly over and approximately parallel with the plate to a point where in actual practice it will abut against the tongue of the rail O. This shoulder preferably extends entirely across the plate and is so formed that the inner or free edge B thereof and its under surface B are adapted to receive the rail against and beneath the same, the base of the rail fitting between the plate A proper and the said under surface of the shoulder B to, in effect, be firmly held thereby.

Extending vertically through the shoulder B and the plate beneath, and also through the opposite corner of the plate, are spikeholes D. I have shown the customary number, but of course it is immaterial how many spike-holes are employed. In Fig. 11 have shown the spikes E inserted through said spike-holes in proper position.

Upon the under surface of the plate in a line with the longitudinal center thereof that is to say, transversely with respect to the rail OI form a series of projections or spurs F. In the drawings I have shown four of these spurs,the same beinglocated one almostimmediately underneath and slightly within either edge of the base of the rail and one slightly within either edge of the plate A. I also form upon the under-surface of the said plate in a line with the transverse center thereof a second series of projections or spurs G, the middle one of which is at the exact center of the plate and two others are a suitable distance apart therefrom on either side thereof. The preferred form of each of these projections or spurs is that of a sectionally rectangular lug throughout a majority of the length of the said spurs from the under surface of the plate downwardly and at a suitable pointbeveled upon two of their faces to form cut- Upon the upper surface thereof, at.

ting edges F and G, respectively. The projections o spurs F are substantially square to present a comparatively short or narrow cutting edge, while the projections or spurs G are elongated to present a relatively wider cutting edge, and the opposite dimensions of the projections or spurs G are proportionately decreased.

By an examination of Fig. 2 it will be observed that the cutting edges F of the longitudinal series of projections or spurs F range transversely of the plate, so as to cut across the fibers of the tie, and these edges F, being,

as stated, substantially short or narrow--that is to say, to such a degree as their necessary efiiciency of holding will permitwill cut but few of the fibers of the tie across and into which these edges F bear, and, on the other hand, the cutting edges G of the second or transverse series f projections or spurs G each range in a direction longitudinal of the 1 t outward thrust of the car-wheels, it will be seen, first, that this movement will be directly supported by the shoulder B, the nearest replate, so that the said edges G enter between the fibers of the tie, and by reason of the specified elongation and narrowing of the projections'or spurs G in the manner shown these said projections or spurs G will but slightly separate the fibers of the tie between which they enter, and such separation of the fibers will occurbut at the point of entrance of the projections or spurs G, instead of extending throughout a considerable portion of the tie, as might be the case if these projections or spurs G were not so narrowed as to thus minimize their power of separating the fibers.

The operation of this device will doubtless readily be understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings. The plate isinserted into the upper surface of the tie, beneath the rail, in any convenient manner. This is customarily done by placing the plates underneath the rails, with theunderprojectionsbearinguponthesurface of the wood, and the track-laying or working locomotive is then run over the rails,which embeds the projections or spurs into the tie, and the spikes are driven to tightly hold the rails and the plate. In this operation the cutting edges of the projections or spurs F and G are forced into the wood, the first across the fibers and the second between the fibers, as previously stated, and while these cutting edges, formed by the beveling of the lower portions of the projections or spurs, cause easy driving of the plate the major or upper portions of the projections 0r spurs (which being sectionally rectangular present vertical faces) will operate to frictionally engage the wood with the efficiency of railway-spikes proportionate to the peripheral surfaces of the said projections or spurs, and this will have a decided tendency to hold the plate in the tie *ment of the rail.

rail from moving during the operation aforesaid, though it will be understood that this is not the object of the construction of the said shoulder. The plate now being in position it will be seen that by reason of the shoulder B,

which clasps the rail, of the spikes E, holding down the said shoulder and the plate on one side and the rail itself and the plate on the opposite side, and of the rectangular projections or spurs frictionally engaging the wood there will be a strong opposition to vertical move- This is, however, not the chief function of a railway wear-plate, for apart from the primary necessity of protecting the tie from the pressure and pounding of the rails a wear-plate should operate to prevent lateral movement or yielding of the rail, and also longitudinal movement thereof.

- These are the chief functions of my device.

Referring to the question of the lateral movement or yielding of the rail against the cipient of the outward thrust of the rail, and by reason of the formation and construction of the said shoulder the inner or hearing face 13 thereof will abut against the tongue, in addition to the said shoulder receiving the thrust of the rail, at and through the railbase, which fits between the said shoulder and the plate, and whileany shoulder will act as a stop against the base of the rail this form of shoulder B increases considerably the area of resistance to the thrust of the rail. This shoulder, however, would have little power in this regard were it supported only by the spikes E or were it supported by a form of anchorage which is of itself weak against lateral movement of the rail. \Vith the cutting edges of the longitudinal series of projections or spurs F arranged to cut across the fibers of the tie the cut edges of the said projections or spurs Gfor that reason will of case by the shoulder B as well the friction of the rail and the plate and of the rail-base and the spike-heads is such that without a proper anchorage there would be a tendency of the plates to move longitudinally with the rails, whereas this condition should be reversed and the wear-plates should be immovable longitudinally to the rail and support and hold the said rail against longitudinal movement.

As my invention is preferably constructed, (which I conceive to be its best form,) the second ortransverse series of projections orspurs G are, as hereinbefore described, and well shown in Fig. 2, so elongated and narrowed that while entering between the fibers at their points of insertion they present substantial surfaces against longitudinal movement of the plate, and by reason of said form and dimensions not only but slightly separate the fibers, as previously specified; but, moreover, this leaves a substantial amount of wood between the projections or spurs G to assist such resistance, whereas if I were to reverse the direction of the cutting edges of each of the projections or spurs G and make them paral' lel with the cutting edges of the projections or spurs F there might be so little wood or fibers of the tie between them as to make practically a long slit across the fibers of the tie centrally upon the longitudinal line of the rails. The opposite directions of the projections or spurs and the relative locations thereof have also a mutually beneficial effect in that the end projections or spurs G being arranged to enter the tie nearer the side edge thereof than the projections or spurs F they will have a tendency to press the fibers of the tie inwardly or toward the center thereof against the partially-separating action upon said fibers of the projections or spurs F, and, moreover, the pressure of the projections or spurs F will, on the other hand,have atendency to hold together by an outward pressure the fibers which would otherwise be more extensively separated by the said project-ions or spurs G.

It will be seen that each of the various elements of my device operates jointly and in cooperation with each of the others to prevent these various movements of the rail, and that by the peculiar arrangement of the projections or spurs I obtain a wonderfully-increased efficiency in the performance of the required functions of a perfect anchorage, and it will also be seen that the whole plate will, in conjunction with and in support of the shoulder 13, act as a brace, which, even upon sharp curves,will so withstand the outward tendency of the rail as to render the same safe and firm even under heavy traffic. Moreover, by reason of the peculiar construc tion of this shoulder the rail cannot rise and ride over the same, as it often does with low purely vertical shoulders not only on curves, but also in a certain degree upon straight tracks. This tendency of the rail to rise comes mainly from the jar of the train,which so vibrates the rail as constantly to raise the spikes, so that the heads thereof project appreciably above the base of the rails, in which position only these spikes operate to prevent the rail from rising over the shoulder and with the outward pressure of traffic becoming dislocated from its normal position or alinement. The outward pressure on curves is so considerable that this is most liable upon such curves, particularly as the rails are usually tilted or raised higher on the outer side in accordance with the well-known principle gov erning curved tracks, whether on railroads or elsewhere.

I do not desire it to be understood that my invention is restricted to the exact form and shape of plate and of its elements shown in the drawings. I conceive them to represent the highest development and the best form of my plate as it thus far exists. I hold, however, that my invention has a certain width of scope and is in a sense a broad invention, and that many slight changes might be made in this wear-plate as I have shown it in the drawings without taking the same outside the scope of this invention.

Having fully described my invention, 1

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A railway wear-plate formed on its under surface with a plurality of spurs ranging along the central longitudinal line of the plate, and having beveled cutting edges directed to cut across the fibers of the tie; and a second series of projections or spurs ranging along the central transverse line of the plate and having beveled cutting edges directed to enter between the fibers of the tie; whereby outward movement of the plate is prevented by the first series of projections, and longitudinal creeping of the plate prevented by the second row of projections.

A railway-plate formed on its under surface with a central longitudinal row or series of projections or spurs, substantially square in section, and beveled upon their lower portions to form cutting edges, directed to cut across the fibers of the tie, and a second row or series of projections or spurs ranging along the central transverse line of the plate, and elongated longitudinally thereof, and having their lower portions beveled to form cutting edges, opposite to the cutting edge of the first series and directed to enter between the fibers of the tie.

3. A railway wear-plate,for1ned on its upper surface with a transversely-rangin g over hanging shoulder near the outer edge thereof, adapted to receive the rail-base beneath the same, and the rail-tongue against the same,

tie; and a second series of projections or spurs ICC ranging along the transverse central line of In testimony that I claim the foregoing as the plate, with their cutting edges directed my invention I have signed my name, in 'pres- IO to enter between the fibers of the tie to withence of the subscribing witnesses, this 10th stand longitudinal movement, one of said proday of October, 1898.

jections or spurs being located centrally of CALVIN DAVID PAXSON. the longitudinal line of the plate and the oth- Witnesses:

ers at either side thereof Within the parallel G. W. HEISER,

edges of the said plate. LESLIE A. \VooLF. 

